Aug. 21—The quarterback who doubled as their leading rusher is gone, along with his top two receiving targets.
Only one starter along the offensive line is back and the defense needs a major rebuild.
The Wilson Bulldogs face a lot of uncertainty heading into the 2021 high school football season. But the biggest question is how — not if — Wilson will compete for another Lancaster-Lebanon Section 1 championship.
“The long-term goal is to win the league and then make a run in districts and states,” said senior running back Jaydn Jones.
Jones is one of the players who stepped forward last season to help Wilson win the L-L Section 1 title for the school’s 32nd league championship.
Jones rushed for 263 yards as a sophomore and just 2 yards in Wilson’s season-opening loss to Gov. Mifflin last season. But when they needed a big performance the most, Jones delivered a 237-yard rushing effort to help Wilson defeat Manheim Township in a game that sparked the Bulldogs on another championship run.
Coach Doug Dahms will have to find more playmakers like Jones to step forward against a challenging non-league schedule that starts with perennial District 3 power Central Dauphin, followed by a game against backyard rival Gov. Mifflin.
The athletes are there. Getting them in the right positions and getting them to come together is the challenge for Dahms in his 16th season as Wilson’s head coach.
“We have questions that we’re trying to answer,” Dahms said. “Our non-league schedule is brutal. We’ll find out real fast what kind of football team we have.”
Berks Catholic transfer Brad Hoffman could be the answer at quarterback to replace two-year starter Kaleb Brown. Brown led Wilson with 746 yards rushing last season and completed 53% of his passes for nine touchdowns.
Hoffman, the starting quarterback at Berks Catholic for the last two seasons, attempted just 163 passes during that time out of the Saints’ Wing-T offense. Brown threw 268 passes during the same period out of Wilson’s spread option offense.
Hoffman is in competition with Gannon Brubaker for the starting quarterback job.
“Hoffman has a stronger arm but that doesn’t mean a whole lot because he hasn’t thrown much,” Dahms said. “In the Wing-T at Berks Catholic, they don’t throw the ball much.”
Wilson does. Despite personnel changes over the years, Dahms said the Bulldogs usually end up fairly close to a 50-50 mix between the run and pass.
“We’re not changing much,” Dahms said. “Little wrinkles here and there to match personnel is all.”
Dahms admitted he might be tempted to rely on the running of Jones and Gavin Lenart a little more than usual until the offense gets settled. Jones rushed for 519 yards on 75 carries last year (6.9 yards per carry). Lenart, also a senior, had 234 yards on 33 rushes (7.1).
“Jaydn and Lenart may carry the ball a lot more early on until we mature,” Dahms said. “But if we’re going to be successful we’ve got to throw the ball and throw the ball well.”
Lenart, who doubles as a linebacker, is a 5-6, 195-pound power runner. Jones is a 5-11, 210-pound slasher.
“People don’t realize how quick he is,” Dahms said of Lenart. “It’s a really nice 1-2 punch. Jaydn is a step better, but in any given year Lenart would be a star running back.”
The top receivers from last year, Troy Corson and Corey Powers, also must be replaced. But because of the depth at the position, Dahms said the Bulldogs will be fine there, as well.
Sean Dendall, a 6-5 senior, could be the top target. He will be joined by Josh Drake, Cam Jones, T.J. Flite and Spencer Thenga.
“We’re going to better at the wide receiver position than we were last year, but not as good on the offensive line — yet,” Dahms said. “We’ve got some good size but they’ve got to gel.”
Senior Kyle Hassler is the only starter returning on the offensive line.
On defense, Dahms is looking to replace seven starters. He said he expects the strength of the defense will be a secondary led by Cam Jones and Drake, along with Brubaker at safety if he doesn’t win the starting quarterback job.
Wilson has been in this position many times before and somehow seems to find the athletes to keep the tradition going. The Bulldogs have strung together 45 consecutive winning season, the longest streak in the state.
And if Dahms and his coaching staff put all the pieces in the right places, the Bulldogs could be playing for yet another championship when they close the regular season at home Oct. 29 against Manheim Township.
“I would think our biggest threat is going to be Township,” Dahms said. “They’re always going to be tough. They’ve got the ball rolling now.”